DIY Faux Planked Tabletop

Happy Monday, I hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend! My family has been celebrating my daughter’s high school graduation, so it’s been a busy, full week of preparation and festivities! I honestly haven’t had much time for blogging (plenty of projects, just no time to take photos and/or write about them), but I do have this project that I shared last month over at Lolly Jane, but haven’t shared here yet. If you have a piece of furniture in need of an update, checkout this easy DIY Faux Planked Tabletop tutorial – it may just make you fall in love with that dated furniture all over again!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–Hello Lolly Jane readers! I’m Amy and I blog about design, DIY, food, and “all things home” over at Home Remedies. I’m so happy to be back, sharing another quick and easy DIY project with you.

Awhile back a sweet friend of mine asked me to help her freshen up her newly purchased home. As a new homeowner moving from a small apartment to a larger single family home, she had a lot of space to fill on a relatively small budget. Filling the house with all new furniture was just too expensive, so we decided to get creative with some of her existing pieces. My friend loved the look of her rustic, planked dining room table and asked if I could help her achieve a similar look with her sturdy, but outdated coffee table. Closer inspection of the dining table revealed that the “planks” were not really planks at all, but simply deep grooves cut into a solid piece of wood, giving the illusion of planks! I wondered if I could do the same thing with the coffee table, using the existing wood top. Painting the base of the table and “planking” the top would give this piece the updated, fresh look we were after.

After doing a little research on the internet, I was happy to find a great tutorial (by Maison de Pax), that served as a guide, and with a bit of tweaking, I was able to adapt it to my own quick and easy project.

First, the table base was painted with white chalk paint, distressed, and a coat of wax was applied.

I then measured and marked the tabletop “planks”. This table was 36″ square so I made six 6″ wide planks (6 planks x 6″ = 36″). *Don’t forget to continue your lines down the edges of your tabletop!

Next, using my yardstick and metal clamps, I made a “guide” for the circular saw – to help keep the cuts as straight as possible.

Using the circular saw set at 1/8″ deep, hubby made the cuts, slowly and carefully.

Once the cuts were made on the tabletop, I used the hand saw to cut the grooves into the edges. You could use your circular saw but neither hubby or I felt comfortable doing this and the hand saw worked just fine.

I wanted a more “rustic” look for the faux planks, so the old orange-y finish was sanded off. I then distressed the tabletop using a hammer, a screwdriver and a metal drill bit.

Next, I applied the stain, making sure to get into the grooves between the faux planks (two coats were applied).

Allow the stain to dry completely, then apply the topcoat of your choice.

That’s it!

I told you it was easy! And now my friend has a “brand new” faux planked coffee table for very little money!

My friend loves her new coffee table, and I hope you enjoyed this project, too! Thanks so much for letting me share with you today! I’d love it if you would follow me over at Home Remedies where you’ll find more quick and easy DIY and home decor projects.

I love this! I can’t sit still just thinking about trying this. What stay did my use, If I may ask? I have to tell you I probably would not have look twice at the original version on this table, but now it carries the entire room! Please show us more of this lovely home!Paige recently posted…At Long Last. . . . A Drum!

This is a great tutorial! I would have never thought to add groves to an existing top to make it look like planks and it turned out great! I am starting a new link up party with Refresh Living every Tuesday night starting @7 pm CST and we would love to have you join us. http://www.pocketofposies.com

I love this Amy! I shared it on facebook this week I love how you distressed it, lol. I just picture you banging it all over with a hammer, haha. The table looks amazing!Lindi recently posted…Father’s Day Footprint Card

Brilliant, Amy! I absolutely LOVE this makeover! You are so talented and creative! Thank you so much for linking up with Thursday Favorite Things and hope to see you again this week! XOAll that’s Jas recently posted…Greek Milk Pie – Galaktoboureko

This is so gorgeous, Amy! I want one in my living room!! I love how easy it was, and I love the dark top agains the white bottom. Featuring this at MM tonight! Amanda @ Dwelling in Happiness recently posted…Summer Spotlight: Sarah from 702 Park Project

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